The Time Has Come: League of Legends' Impact on the Rapid Growth of eSports

One year ago, FnaticMSI won the Season One League of Legends World Championships at DreamHack Summer 2011, taking home $50,000 as the first ever League of Legends champions. At the time, no one would have guessed how influential League of Legends would be on the growth of eSports.

FnaticMSI at Dreamhack Summer 2011 (Riot Games)

Fast forward to today. According to developer Riot Games, League of Legends is now the "most played video game in the world" with over seventy million registered users and twelve million daily active players logging a combined total of one billion hours of game-time a month. While the statistics are seemingly unparalleled, Riot's mission extends beyond that of the standard MOBA. As stated by CEO Brandon Beck, Riot built League of Legends with every intention of making it a competitive sport, one that serves as both a business and as consumer entertainment.

For Riot, 2012 was a year of explosive growth as the studio continually invested in the evolution of eSports, establishing League of Legends' place in the movement. Without a doubt, Riot is one of the most involved game developers in bringing eSports into the mainstream, despite the financial risk.

Marc Merrill, co-founder and president of Riot, stated, "We lose a lot of money on esports. It's something, currently, that we do to drive return or profitability or whatnot. It's bringing value to our players. Maybe, down the road, that will change. This is something we believe, as a company, philosophically, if we bring value to our players, they'll reward us with engagement."

Riot's efforts culminated last week with the Season Two World Championships in Los Angeles, California, where players and fans congregated at the Galen Center to witness the highest caliber of play by the best teams in the world. Over 7,000 attendees filled up the sold-out arena, which is typically used for college athletics.

"We lose a lot of money on esports. It's something, currently, that we do to drive return or profitability or whatnot...This is something we believe, as a company, philosophically, if we bring value to our players, they'll reward us with engagement."

- Marc Merrill

A multitude of online streams broadcasting the event garnered over one million concurrent viewers all over the world. The number increases dramatically if you include the televised broadcasts in China and South Korea. Such figures indicate that Riot has created the foundations of a spectator sport, a necessity for the legitimacy of eSports.

The crowd at the S2 World Championships (ESFI World)

The underdog team, Taipei Assassins, defeated South Korea's Azubu Frost in the grand finals to win the tournament's $1 million prize, a far cry from last year's $100,000 prize pool, setting a strong precedent for other premier tournaments and game developers. The substantial $5 million prize pool for the Season Two World Championships is a testament to Riot's commitment to its players, which in turn is rewarded by player involvement.

Taipei Assassins, S2 Champions (Garena)

Riot VP Dustin Beck emphasized, “It’s in our blood at Riot to give back to the community and we think our pro players feel the same way and believe they have the same responsibility.”

Millions of dollars in cash prizes is just the start of what's to come. On August 6, Riot announced the League of Legends Championship Series, a global league of professional players with weekly matches, playoff events, and most importantly, paid salaries. The salaries, according to Beck, cover the basic cost of living for players, along with supplemented travel and housing stipends. All of that coupled with sponsorships, stream revenue, and tournament cash prizes are an attempt to legitimize pro gaming as "a completely viable career opportunity," which will help League of Legends reach its full potential as an eSport.

eSports is still in its infancy, growing rapidly with every event. And Riot Games is in a unique position to strengthen and sustain the entire realm of eSports, which includes pro teams, leagues, organizations, the community, and competitive games beyond just League of Legends. With the success of the World Championships, Riot has raised the bar significantly for other events, bringing esports a step closer to overall legitimacy in society.

“It’s in our blood at Riot to give back to the community and we think our pro players feel the same way and believe they have the same responsibility.”

- Dustin Beck

The effort to garner mainstream acceptance and attention is not exclusive to just Riot. David Ting, General Manager of eSports and VP of Research & Development for IGN Entertainment, has stated since the inception of the IGN Pro League that his mission is to help eSports become a major sport, one that measures up to the NFL.

TSM winning IPL Face Off

Roy Bahat, former President of IGN Entertainment, stated, “The time has come for video games, as a spectator sport, to go mainstream in the United States as it has elsewhere around the world.”

IPL will host its next live event, IPL5, at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas from November 29 to December 2. Tickets are available for purchase now.